OA was absent in FBI season 8 episode 5 (but we know when he's back)

It’s always disappointing when our favorite characters take a break from storylines. Fellow OA fans will have certainly felt his absence in FBI season 8 episode 5.

This was an absence we knew was coming. In fact, we’d shared a warning about this likely being the case due to the way Maggie and Eva were teaming up for a case. Maggie teams up with other members of the New York Field Office when her partner is out of commission for an episode in the majority of cases.

That being said, the absence isn’t going to be for long. We know exactly when OA will be back.

“Falsetto” – Pictured (L-R): Juliana Aidén Martinez as Eva Ramos and Missy Peregrym as Special Agent Maggie Bell. Photo: Bennett Raglin/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Why wasn’t OA in FBI season 8 episode 5

There wasn’t really an answer needed for OA’s absence in the episode itself, as we knew from the previous episode. During FBI season 8 episode 4, OA and Maggie dealt with a major threat on an airplane. They were tasked with protecting a Senator, only for that Senator to be killed by a neurotoxin.

Well, OA ended up infected by the neurotoxin, and Maggie needed to find an antidote. She did, but it was a close call, and at the end of the episode, OA was in the hospital to make sure there were no more health complications from the drug.

“Parental” – Pictured (L-R): Zeeko Zaki as Special Agent Omar Adom ‘OA’ Zidan and Missy Peregrym as Special Agent Maggie Bell. Photo: Bennett Raglin/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

OA will be back in FBI season 8 episode 6

That did mean that he needed to sit out an episode. In some good news, it’s only one episode that he’s out of commission for. The images for FBI season 8 episode 6 make it clear that OA is back in the action.

He’ll work with Maggie and the rest of the Field Office to figure out what happened at a community clinic where a burglary turned into murder. There is a deeper conspiracy going on, with a drug trafficking gang attacking, and it’s possible that one of the doctors at the clinic is in on it.

Based on the images, it looks like Jubal is the one who will be absent from this episode. We’re going to see this with characters now and then, and it’s all due to the budget cuts behind the scenes. The easiest way to keep the costs down is to only give actors guaranteed minimums for the number of episodes they’re in, and this means crafting a storyline to have them sit out now and then. Sometimes, it’s just a random day off, but other times, it can be for a much bigger reason, such as OA in FBI season 8 episode 5.

FBI airs on Mondays at 9/8c on CBS.

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